Email Marketing: The Power of Trust

While algorithmic and mobile advertising are becoming rapidly and increasingly important, email still remains a powerful tool in your marketing mix. A new study on email marketing conducted by Blue Hornet Networks, Inc. has found that of over 1,800 consumers polled, 78% make a purchase at least once a month based on an email campaign they received, according to Direct Marketing News.

Max Kazen highlights the vitality of good communication using email marketing. Is your data current and relevant? The art of email marketing lies in making your customers believe they are getting the “best product for the best price.”  The key to successful email marketing is bringing in the right data, segmenting your audience(s) and personalizing content to reflect interests and past purchases. That’s the real strength of email – a focused, personalized message. However, even the best content can be undermined by a bad subject line, emails that are poorly formatted, a weak call to action, excessive copy or are sent to frequently – one send per audience a week seems optimal.

When a consumer finds that your data is relevant to his or her life or needs, they feel a connection to your brand and company. By consistently, genuinely and ethically offering what is best for a customer, you reach the “unconscious-decision making process.” According to Robert Cialdini, PhD, “once someone has given you authority to enter their life through email, they have made a certain commitment to consistency… (they) trust you, (they) believe you are an authority, and consistent with that belief, (they) will take certain actions…over and over to verify (their) own beliefs.”

So make a connection or sense of belonging that goes further than a purchase.  Provide valuable industry insight and establish credibility and trust.  Don’t focus on the sell and product offerings every time. Your subscribers will develop trust and recommend your services by word of mouth and electronic word of mouth (eWOM). “Good for us” data tends to yield the best results.

With a new fiscal year approaching, the big questions are always: How much to spend on marketing; and where should those dollars go when it comes to ad buys? While your own budget will dictate the former, research shows the latter is driving directly toward mobile.  

All indicators show 2016 as the year of mobile. EMarketer reports that for the first time, the global advertising market will surge in the mobile department, “surpassing 100 billion dollars in spending and accounting for 50 percent of all digital ad expenditure.” In addition, for the first time ever digital advertising is forecasted to account for more than a quarter of all ad spend in 2016, according to a recent DM News article citing research conducted by Carat in 59 global markets.  

Mobile spending is also expected to nearly double over the next three years as consumer attention shifts from desktops to smartphones and tablets, parlaying a 430% increase from 2013 to 2016. If you think you see a lot of people attached to their phones now, by 2016, smartphone users will rise to more than two billion!

Think about it. How often are you frustrated when the data you search for doesn’t load properly on your smartphone? Today’s generation of consumers want their digital experience to be mobile-friendly and smart advertisers are using this trend to their advantage and healthcare marketers are no exception. Over 90% of physicians use smart phones and tablets and well over half routinely use these devices in a professional capacity (Epocrates)

“The strength of digital continues to dominate discussions and the new distribution of spending,” says Jerry Buhlmann, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network, “…mobile dominates the way consumers access information, view content, browse products, and purchase goods….”

The numbers are truly staggering and the implications for marketers are clear — to reach and remain relevant and resonate with your target audience, digital and mobile advertising must be deeply integrated within your marketing strategy.  

According to TDWI, bad data cost US businesses $611 Billion in 2013, the US economy over $3 trillion and is estimated to add up to $314 billion to healthcare costs alone (IT Business Edge). The impact on organizations large and small is staggering and contributes to a loss of anywhere between 15-25% of gross revenue for the average company’s bottom line, according to a recent article in IT Business Edge citing Ovum Research.  

What’s even more shocking is the fact that many businesses ignore the quality of the data they’re bringing in and the quality of their existing customer data, focusing primarily on sourcing the lowest cost solution at the time.  This pervasive, outdated approach has cost companies trillions in lost revenue — so when will businesses become less short sighted?  

The problem lies with the market’s perception of data.  It’s too often viewed as a commodity and all data is equal, right? Well, even commodities carry distinction, despite popular belief.  Econsultancy’s Ben Davis refers to data as “the new oil,” going on to say “data must be polished before it is sent out to the public, just as oil must go through a refining process to become gasoline or kerosene.” If you fill up your car’s gas tank with kerosene, you may have a problem getting to work, just as if you are not maintaining your customer data or bringing in bad data, your approach, will predictably and inevitably, conclude with lost revenue, poor morale and in many cases the dissolution of the business.   

54% of marketers cite “lack of data quality/completeness” as their greatest obstacle. Bad data leads to a host of problems including higher consumption of resources and maintenance costs, distortion of success metrics, lower productivity, poor company morale, and loss of revenue – just to name a few.

Only once organizations have truly embraced the fact that data is fluid and constantly changing, will they unlock the value of their customer data, as well as, prospect data they are acquiring from third parties.